2013 – A Year of Travel In 65 Color Photographs

Light, Clouds, Cliffs and an Old Ruin
Durness, Scotland

The Turkish Spice Market - Bazaar, Bodrum, Turkey

Bodrum, Turkey

Discovering Innsbruck

Innsbruck, Austria

Painted Mountains - San Juan Mountains

Lake City, Colorado, USA

The Basilica Cistern - Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Umbrellas in the Rain - Perugia, Italy

Perugia, Italy

The Scottish Wilds - Northern Scotland

Northeastern Scotland, Scotland

Rocky Mountain National Park

Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

Discovering Innsbruck

Innsbruck, Austria

Rising Moon Over Ouray, Colorado

Ouray, Colorado, USA

Copenhagen in June

Copenhagen, Denmark

The Portal - Smoo Cave, Durness, Scotland

Smoo Cave, Durness, Scotland

Passes Outside Dolores - Colorado

Near Dolores, Colorado, USA

A Moment In Time

Stor Point, Scotland

The Grand Bazaar - Istanbul, Turkey

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey

Colosseum and Forum - Rome, Italy

Rome, Italy

A Brilliant Scottish Beach

Northwestern Scotland, Scotland

Tulips and Focus - Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark

Follow the Leader - Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye, Scotland

The Rainbow - Near Silverton, Colorado

Silverton, Colorado, USA

A Black Hairy Cow - Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye, Scotland

Lilies in Bloom

Prescott, Arizona, USA

Black Linn Falls - The Hermitage - Scotland

The Hermitage, Scotland

Wild Rams - Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountain National Park, USA

Waiting Ships at Sunset - Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

The Falls - Corrieshalloch Gorge

Corrieshalloch Gorge, Ullapool, Scotland

Life in Copenhagen

Copenhagen, Denmark

The Painted Desert - Northern Arizona

Kayenta, Arizona, USA

Lost In Time - Road to Applecross

Applecross, Scotland

The Painted Desert - Northern Arizona

Painted Desert, Northern Arizona, USA

Telluride in Fall - Colorado

Telluride, Colorado, USA

Discovering Innsbruck

Innsbruck, Austria

Rolling Hills - Northern Scotland

Northeastern Scotland, Scotland

The Grand Bazaar - Istanbul, Turkey

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey

Near Dolores - Colorado

Above Dolores, Colorado, USA

Highland Lakes - Scotland

Scottish Highlands, Scotland

Mosque and Skyline at Sunset - Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Scotland's Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls, Scotland

Clouds Over Telluride, Colorad

Telluride, Colorado, USA

Riders - Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark

The Road To Applecross - Scotland

Applecross, Scotland

The Birth of Clouds - Grand Lake, CO

Grand Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

Romantic Reflections - North Western Scotland

Near Applecross, Scotland

Smoo Cave Waterfall - Durness, Scotland

Smoo Cave, Durness, Scotland

The Painted Desert - Northern Arizona

Painted Desert, Northern Arizona, USA

Reflections - Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park, USA

Birds in Flight - Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye, Scotland

Spring in the Mirror

Copenhagen, Denmark

Dramatic Clouds - Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

The Painted Desert - Northern Arizona

Jackson Butte, Colorado, USA

An Old Shed - Northern Scotland

Northern Scotland, Scotland

Exploring Belgium

Ghent, Belgium

Changing Aspen - Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park, USA

Living On The Street

Copenhagen, Denmark

Dead Boats - Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye, Scotland

The Storm - Cortez, Colorado

Cortez, Colorado, USA

Summer in Bloom - Durness, Scotland

Durness, Scotland

Flowerbed Cat - Bodrum, Turkey

Bodrum, Turkey

Copenhagen in June

Copenhagen, Denmark

Trout Lake - Colorado

Trout Lake, Colorado, USA

Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye, Scotland

Black Canyon on the Gunnison

Black Canyon On The Gunnison, Colorado, USA

The Falls - Road to Applecross

Applecross, Scotland

Women Relaxing - Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark

Dramatic Sunset - Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

All photos in this post are original photographs I shot on my Canon 600D/T3i during 2013. Lenses used were the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, and Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6  lenses. Photos are shot in RAW format and then edited in Lightroom. I take a true-to-moment approach and only make adjustments to remove lens spots and to tweak color, sharpness, exposure, clarity, whites and blacks. In addition to posting these 65 color photos, see my favorite 65 black and white shots from 2013. You can also see my favorite shots from 2012 here.

It was a wonderful year full of incredible travel, growth, amazing food, and spectacular people and cultures.

I am a travel blogger and photographer. I also am involved in academic research into the study abroad and backpacker communities.

11 Comments

  1. Hi Alex,
    I wanted to catch up with you in 2014 to see what you’re up to and WOW!, you’ve had a spectacular year as seen in your photos! These are some beauties and I sure appreciate your point of view and artistry. Just gorgeous, my friend!
    Hope your New Year is fruitful. Wishing safe and happy travels,
    Josie

  2. Hey Alex…some awesome photos! Can’t figure out which one is my favorite. The spice one reminds me of a pic I took in Chelsea’s market in NYC earlier this year…the colors are so vibrant. Never heard of Jackson Butte, is that in Monument Valley? I was in that area this year myself. Oh, I looked at your B&W images too…just fantastic. Not only do you have a good eye, you’re pretty good in Lightroom as well.

    Hope ya have a great 2014!

    1. Thanks Mike! I love spice photos. Just the richness and feel of them is always amazing! Jackson Butte is near Monument/but a bit further along the road from the four corners to Cortez right by one of the turnoffs. Cool rock formation for sure! I’m originally from Cortez, so it’s always fun heading up to that area with the folks since they know every inch of it from their Crow Canyon days. I feel like my photo editing and comfort with the dSLR has come a long ways this past year. Still a lot to learn, but it’s a fun process! Definitely very happy with how all these photos turned out – not a bad run for my little Canon 600D. Thanks for the kind words!

      1. I just love photography, but have found it to be a challenge doing both still and video. I feel you can only be in one mode or the other. This past year I was more focused on video, therefore I did not capture many great still images. I also have to attribute the lack of good images to my camera. I used to have a Ti1 and took a lot of great images with it. I then got the Ti3 which I have to say just sucked. I don’t know if I had a lemon or what, but I could not get a good shot to save my life. I know have the 70D and just love it! I have used Photoshop for years, but some professional photographer friends of mine have told me that I have to learn Lightroom. I really want to learn it soon, but just have not yet pulled the trigger on buying the software. I’ve spent about $3k on camera equipment in the past few months. Anyhow, keep up the good work…you should be really proud. BTW, thanks for the info on Jackson Butte and Black Canyon. Cheers!

        1. I agree 100% and have had similar thoughts while trying to balance the two over the last 2 years. The mindset is just so different from film to still photos, combine that with the feeling over overlap when you’re setting up and then taking the two different sets of shots and I find I just don’t manage to do either all that well when trying to doubleshoot.

          I’m torn on the T3i. On the one hand, it has really allowed me to step up a lot of my shots and given me the added power of a dSLR. But, there are times I miss the reliability and balance that my G11 had. I also feel like a lot of my images should be better and like there are some weird quirks as far as noise issues, and clarity/sharpness. But, I haven’t been able to hone in completely on where the issues are coming from – if it is my lenses, if it is the way I force the camera to shoot at a low ISO, an issue with the Av mode or ? It’s obviously working decently enough, but at the same time I do feel like if I was shooting on a 70D, 7D, or 5D Mark II or III I’d be able to get a whole different level of crispness, clarity and depth. The same is true for the video shots, though there I think it’s more my lack of understanding of post processing and the fact I’m shooting the video on default ISO, WB, etc. also I know I need to figure out my export settings. Been having a lot of issues figuring out size and rate friendly ones that work for exports out of Vegas eg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwsLHaqPvMo&feature=c4-overview&list=UUUtu7t-eglMzDFNjRMv1PMw.

          Lightroom is fantastic. You can pick up a lot of great stuff just by watching the B&H tutorial talks on YouTube. Spend 2 hours watching a couple of them and you’ll be up and operating at functional speed. Great for general and batch edits.

          1. Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one. 🙂 You are right, it’s so difficult to “double shoot.” Totally different mindset shooting still vs. video. BTW, I misspoke…the camera I was having issues with was the Ti4, but similar issues to what you describe. Very often I would have blurry shots…even using a tripod. Not blurry so much as not crisp at all! I never had that issue with my first generation Ti camera. I think for the price price point, the 70D is the way to go. It has a ground-up, brand new processor… the 7D and 5D are 3+ years old. This assessment is especially valid when you’re like me and want the camera for both still and video. The video quality is pretty damn amazing…and, so much easier to shoot video with than the Ti, 60D or 5D. With the 70D they’ve addressed a lot of cumbersome issues, like focus.

            Thanks for the B&H video suggestion for Lightroom. I suspect since I’ve used Photoshop for so long, it won’t be a difficult learning curve. I’m also a subscriber to Lynda.com, which I highly recommend for pretty much anything you want to learn.

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